I decided to visit my creek.  Half the time or more it is dry.  We have been getting some rain and I glanced down in the water and saw a ?frog disappear under a rock.  That was a first.  It is not unusual for toads to be found in our front yard.  Sometimes I even find toads in our garage.  That was the first time I ever saw a frog in that tiny creek.

In a mere four days spring arrives.  I usually start a countdown to spring earlier but this weather was unusually warmer.  The primrose and crocuses have bloomed.  The daffodils are next.  Pretty soon we will start planting pansies and other flowers.

It was an unusual slate colored junco–more commonly called “snow” birds. Usually you only see the white on their tail wings as they flick them but this particular bird had one side of its tail showing white all the time.  I noticed this particular bird for weeks.  It was about a week until spring and they migrate north so don’t know how much longer that bird will be around.  It seemed only a few weeks ago we had a large snow storm and slate colored juncos were all over the yard feeding on the birdseed I put out on the top of the snow.

March ninth was the first day this year we played Scrabble in our yard. We were in the middle of a heat wave for this time of the year. I counted seventeen wide open purple crocuses and today one yellow primrose opened with more on the way. I know the temperature will get colder and more seasonal but I am enjoying this burst of spring.

Spring is coming, Spring is coming !!! I am waiting for today and tomorrow to end. Then we get five days of Spring-like weather. My crocuses have eleven buds, and the daffodils are getting higher and higher. I know the cold weather this year was short, but I still remember those ice cold days we had. Spring is less than two weeks away, and I can’t wait for it to come.

A Harbinger Of Spring

Author: siggy

Some daffodils were poking their heads under the tree. This was a harbinger of spring. I checked the bed of primrose–no flowers yet.

I never forgot one visit by the couple who lived in NYC. I wanted to show them the the Susquehanna River at night. To get to our vantage point we had to pass under a railroad trestle and it was a little bit muddy. She refused to go there because she might get her shoes a little bit dirty. All I could do was shake my head. Thus she missed seeing how beautiful the river looked at night.

We had a visit by a doe last summer. We spotted her from our kitchen window. I had never seen one in our backyard. Maybe she was attracted by the fruit of the mulberry tree. Several times we spotted the doe around the tract of woods adjacent to our property so I can only surmise it was living there. It was very unusual to see a deer so close to our house. And we saw the doe several times around that tract of land the last few months.

My “monster” cactus which we hung up in my den has three buds. It does not tolerate the cold too well so we had to bring it inside the house. I have been watching the daily growth of these three buds. The cactus has five inch wide pink flowers and tentacles several feet long. Each day the buds are a little bigger. I was amazed we did not break any tentacles gently transporting it. We have had the plant for at least two years.

I had several encounters with creatures near my house. First I ran over a box turtle not hitting it in the road and then stopped and checked on it. Someone must have hit it not too long ago. It was dead. The red blood was still fresh under it. I did not want any car hitting it again so I kicked it to the side of the road. It was about five inches long and must have seen a few years.

Last week I walked into my den and to my surprise there was a bird flying around it frantically trying to get out. That was a mystery to me how it flew by us without us first seeing it (through the open garage door). First I gave up the idea of trapping it. Finally I opened one window and released the screen window and it flew out. I think it was a house wren.

Today’s encounter was in my car. A wild turkey hit the front of my car and made it across the road wings flapping wildly. I passed that spot several minutes later and it was gone. I must have stunned it. It was no longer in that spot.

You never know what creature you will see next. I live on the edge of country.

Yesterday near my house I flushed ten turkey hens. That was the largest flock I had ever seen at one time. They all disappeared into the woods on my right heading for the tiny creek that lay below. I was thrilled to see so many wild turkeys at one time.

Yesterday I spotted a turkey hen with at least five babies milling around her before they disappeared into the woods. I drove right by them. The babies were half as tall as the mother. That was the second time I spotted a turkey with her babies as of late.